Hi Wendy,
Congrats first of all on two years sober! I am hoping to hit that mark in May 2017. I quit last May, after trying a few times unsuccessfully to quit.
Your friend sounds similar in me in alot of ways. First of all, I thought I had "depression" for a couple years. I showed alot of the symtoms associated with depression. Once, I quit drinking, most all of those symtoms went away. Alcohol is a depressant after all, so we shouldnt be surprised if it makes us depressed. Secondly, my spouse thought I had a sleep disorder due to by snoring and stopping breathing during sleep.. Once I quit drinking, that stopped almost completely. I now only snore if i an extrmeely tired before bed. In fact, for me, I would say proper sleeping is one of the biggest benefits I have experienced since I quit drinking.
I am no health care expert, but I really would like to know if your friends apnea symptoms and depression syptoms would be less if he got off booze for a period of time?
For withdrawal symptoms, when I quit drinking first, I was very mindful of what was going to happen. When I got a craving, I said to myself "This is normal. It will pass." And low and behold it passed away after a few minutes.
All the best to your friend. He's lucky to have a friend like you to support him.
Gus